Toilet Training of Children from the General Population and From Families with a High Social and Economic Status. Comparative Research

Goal: to compare the main parameters of toilet skills formation in between children of the common population and those from families with a high social and economic status. Methods: 1068 parents with children 2–5 years of age were questioned using a specially developed questionnaire. Results: 1012 children from the common population (CP) and 56 children from families with a relatively high economic and social status (RHESS) were studied. The average age at the beginning of toilet training appeared to be the same 15,17 ± 0,23 months (CP) and 15,6 ± 0,8 months (RHESS). In the CP group 29.5% of parents started toilet training before their children reached the age of 1 year — which is twice more often than in the RHESS group. The RHESS children finish toilet training approx. 1.9 months earlier. The overall training turned out to be shorter in the RHESS group by more than 2 months: 10,5 ± 0,6 against 12,88 ± 0,41 months (р < 0,05). Serious differences were discovered in the teaching methods: parents from the CP group are more inclined towards forced placement of the child onto the pot and to more active actions demonstrating at the same time more variety in methodology, while in the RHESS group the methodology is more homogeneous with techniques oriented at the child’s choice and a moderate parental activity are dominating. Conclusion. The methods of child toilet training in families with a high economic and social status is different from those most popular in the general population. The training in the RHESS group is slightly faster and is concluded earlier.

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